Kernel code execution via IOKit race condition
Published Nov 1, 2022 · Updated Apr 22, 2025
Race condition in IOKit in Apple macOS before 13 allows local users to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. IOKit uses insufficient locking around concurrent access to an undisclosed shared resource; Apple has not disclosed the affected function or object. Execution requires a local app and user interaction, and successful exploitation gives that app kernel-level code execution.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in IOKit in Apple macOS before 13 allows local users to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. IOKit uses insufficient locking around concurrent access to an undisclosed shared resource; Apple has not disclosed the affected function or object. Execution requires a local app and user interaction, and successful exploitation gives that app kernel-level code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-42806
- Published
- Nov 1, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 22, 2025
- Vendor
- Apple
- Product
- macOS
- Classifications
- CWE-362, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 1, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 22, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <13
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <16.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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